Possibly one of the most amusing parts of the SOPA protests were the people who totally did not understand what was going on. And thanks to @Herpderpedia, who retweeted every funny freak out from the day the hysteria can live on forever. 

TUMBLR OBSESSN OF THE WEEK! ANIMALS TALKING IN ALL CAPS IS…JUST WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE! CHECK IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!

HERE’S THE LATEST POST:

SHHHHHH. SPEECH IS FUTILE. LET US COMMUNICATE THROUGH PURE THOUGHT, UNDILUTED, OUR INDIVIDUAL CONSCIOUSNESS DISSOLVING IN A COMMON POOL, MINGLING, BECOMING ONE.

YES, LET US MERGE MINDS. OUR SPIRIT IS THE LIGHT, REFLECTED AND REFRACTED, WHILE WE ARE BUT FACETS OF THE SAME JEWEL. COME CLOSER. CLOSER. YES. THAT. SEEMS. TO BE. WRRRRKKKNNNNG.

… WAIT, ARE YOU THINKING ARBY’S?

YEAH, YOU TOO?

WHY DIDN’T YOU JUST SAY THAT?

Thank you internet. THIS is what we’re trying to protect. 

If you were using Tumblr yesterday, chances are you happened upon the PIPA/ SOPA protest requesting you to black out your blog for the day. An interesting move for the brand to take rather than blacking out Tumblr itself, to show its support in asking hundreds of thousands of blogs to shut down for the day. So far in support, Wikipedia held to its promise to black out and direct users to information where they could contact their state representatives (below), and Google has changed its logo to a black bar code theme for the day…

This is a very interesting moment for Gen Y’s relationship to both the internet (which could fundamentally change should either SOPA or PIPA pass), but more importantly, to activism itself. One could say that the Occupy movements could just be the beginning of a long strain of activism being sparked within this generation; an activism that isn’t electoral, but very democratically/ socially oriented. We are keeping our eyes open for brands that understand this moment. 

After many a public political/celebrity/college/athlete scandal, we’ve all learned from others’ mistakes to think twice about taking drunken, debaucherous photos. Because you never know who may find that lost camera…it could be this guy! The creator of I Touched Your Driftwood was strolling along the beach this December, found a camera that had washed ashore, and uploaded all the pics to create a charming Tumblr with the wonderfully scandalous 127 party photos! He (she?) has even gone the extra mile and fabricated characters and a decent storyline to accompany the embarrassing photos. Morally questionable? Maybe. Whatever, I’m pretty sure we get fresh karma in the new year, so this can just be strike one. 

This video might be proof positive that while a popular twitter feed can’t be reliably turned into a hit sitcom (sorry “Stuff My Dad Says”) they should ABSOLUTELY be used as fodder for online shorts guest starring Juliette Lewis. We would watch a whole channel devoted to creating these. 

The internet is in love with Marcel the Shell with Shoes on. Above is the first video, and the second was released this week. Writers Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp have written a Marcel the Shell book and Marcel has an iPhone app too, of course. Just what it is about Marcel the Shell that has captured the hearts of millions of viewers? It might be his tiny voice, or his tiny charm- whatever it is, Marcel has built himself quite a mini-empire. 

Filed Under: Catvertising

John St., a Toronto based ad agency, have jokingly announced they are launching a “catvertising agency.”  The piece says that cat videos are the newest business tool and companies that can’t utilize this knowledge will just get left in the dust.  They are speaking some truth in that so many ad campaigns today are becoming attempts at recreating viral videos created for the consumer by the consumer.  Similar to online content, the ad world can easily become an echo chamber of ideas that are merely being repackaged as new ideas.  On the other hand, if these little fur faces can garner over 61 million hits on YouTube, starting a catvertising agency doesn’t seem like a bad idea.

Filed Under: Gamer Foodies

Gourmet Gaming is a blog for foodies, gamers and gamer foodies, listing recipes for foods that are featured in all different types of video games.  You will find anything from the “Superspicy Curry” found in the Gameboy version of Kirby’s Dream Land (remember? it gave Kirby the power to spit fireballs) to Grand Theft Auto IV’s “The Bleeder” burger. Gourmet Gaming allows gamers to add another sensory layer to their gaming experience while contributing to their overall gamer expertise- who doesn’t want to know what Kirby’s curry tastes like after all!

Filed Under: Out Of Touch

Last week Americans and pundits alike scratched their heads at what’s been dubbed as the “Herman Cain Smoking Ad.” Presidential candidate Jon Huntsmans’ daughters saw this as an opportunity to blow up their own JonGirls2012 campaign with the above parody ad. I find the girls’ video much more painful than the original mostly because it’s clear they’re trying to win over a younger vote for their father, but could not be more out of touch with their own generation. They fail to realize that they have an opportunity to reach young people who want an insider perspective, but instead their Twitter is like freshman sorority sisters posting hipstamatic photos of Panda Express and their Dad putting on makeup. They have the opportunity to connect with young people and talk about issues that matter but instead they’re connecting with the people through galla photos and could be dismissed by Gen Ys as out of touch fluff. So close, but so far. 

What would Scream have been like if a very different Anderson had directed it? Full of omniscient narration and indie bands. 

The internet loves to copy Wes Anderson’s directing style- we hope they never stop.